Ryusei Shinkou stood in line, towering over the far younger compatriots with whom he would soon be competing with for the title of genin. He had heard, though this was not proven, that only a limited number of genin were accepted each session, though he had heard something similar in spy school, and that was a myth meant to excite the students. Honestly though, he kind of hoped that he would not be one of the ones to fail, he would hate to be a repeat student at the academy. Not that that was not uncommon, but his age would make this increasingly awkward for him. That and he wanted to earn some cash, and he could not even take the simplest of missions yet. Silently, he awaited his turn, frowning in concentration, some parents nearby casting nervous glances between him and their kiddoes in line, like he was some kind of molester or something.

To take the genin exam you need 40 stats, your stat page says you have 30. I do know I approved a 5 stat gain last night, so you should have 35. Alas, that does not put you at the 40 mark just yet and, as a result, I will be unable to give the exam until this prerequisite is met, sorry for inconvenience.

"Battle not with Monsters lest ye Become a Monster and if you gaze into the abyss the abyss gazes also into you"

There were always too many applicants and too much time. Jisou was getting too old for this. The balding, heavyset man had just celebrated his fourty fourth birthday and come to the realization that his next twenty years will be the same as his last, picking kids who looked like they could survive a kiri Geninhood.

"You!" He barked out gruffly to the tall kid. "Front and center. Clone and transformation and if I see you choke, I choke you! Undrrstood?"

He waited nervously. His weight shifted back and forth, his largish frame changing angle significantly as he nervously watched the other participants, and the proctor, whose temper seemed like it could get the best of him sometimes.

That being said, he was not melting into a rhetorical puddle like some of the applicants, but a few of them might be actors for all he knew- they were completely nonplussed about the whole matter.

Frantically, he began reviewing the steps for each of the jutsu, checking at some brief notes he had scribbled down before scurrying out of his apartment this morning, trying to find a way to make this moderately more interesting for the proctor, such that he would be more likely to give Ryusei Shinkou a pass. It was likely that an older age and larger physical size could mean higher expectations for Ryusei and he did not want to stumble here lest he be sent back to the Academy Class of doom. Ok, maybe he was prone to hyperbole at the moment, but it was a legitimate concern.

He found out a few days ago that when nervous he could easily start biting at his nails, and this time was no different. Well, almost. It was no different, until he accidentally sucked in the slip of paper with his precious notes. His face turned ashen, with only a couple more kids to go before him, what would he do? He would have to improvise. Hopefully he could concentrate on the jutsu and not get stage fright. Well, he was an oddball when it came to that, really. He did not get the typical stage fright, so much as feeling this heavy weight compressing his chest, whenever he spoke. Kinda like the onset of a heart attack, he figured. Hopefully nothing serious there. Would be kind of a dent in his career to spend a while in the hospital BEFORE being a repeat student at the academy.

Well, he would have to improvise.

One kiddo left before him.

Ryusei took a deep breath, because he was never going to live out this moment for the rest of his life, not as long as the other people in the room were alive anyway. Still, hopefully the proctor got a kick out of watching a twenty year old imitate a kiddies song, from long ago. If he focused enough on the performance then that pressure on his chest might go away.

It was worth a shot. The proctor frowned, or glared, or something, at him, and barked at Ryusei to come up front and center. Adding a few honorifics might not hurt, given that the proctor looked like he was unhappily resigned to the woes of a desk job for, well, a good long time at least. He had seen other wannabe genin in the examinations before, but their proctors were not as jaded.

“Sure thing, Sir!” Ryusei walked with a bounce in his step, attempting to ooze confidence, but not overtly so, he did not want to come across as arrogant. Just that he knew what he was doing, and that he had practiced many more times that he really had. Ok, more confident that he should be.

Anyhow, the last guy was sent off, a genin headband in tow. Ryusei hoped to join him. Stopping in front of the mildy prickly proctor, Ryusei weaved a few hand seals, and his appearance suddenly was obscured by a poof of smoke.

The smoke faded, to reveal a medium-ish height man, of a very dark complexion, in a red version of an outfit most commonly seen in dojos, with a red band tied around his head, the two ends connecting at the back. Yes, Ryusei Shinkou was imitating a musician’s getup, and a specific one at that.

He was pretty self conscious by this time, but heck with this, he already embarrassed himself a ton, no point in giving up now!

“Oh, ho ho hoah!!!!!!”

“Oh ho ho hoahhhhhh!!!!!!”

Then he made a startling addition to a well known song, specifically a spontaneous syllable to distract the proctor from the hand seals he was now weaving – “Ha!”

A short awkward pause while two clones popped up, flanking the original body, and slightly behind. Not having time to check to see if the clones were mimicking his original body, or the modified impression he was doing, Ryusei continued singing,, knowing the clones could win any lip synching battle if he was on beat, since they were mimicking all his moves.

Adding a characteristic warble to his voice, he continued – “Eeevery body was Kung Fu FightingGGGGGgggGGGgg…”

“Those Kids were Fast as LightningGgGgG.”

During some lines, and at the end of each line, he added in punches and kicks, at some points attempting to perform flying kicks, and only sometimes missing the furniture and walls....

In the interests of preserving his dignity, we skip forward to the end of the song, by which Ryusei Shinkou was kinda parched, as the last echoes of his marginal performance faded away. (“LIGHTningggg…….”)

He released both the transformation and the clones, glad he was done, and secretly worried for a couple of reasons. The first being that he had probably taken far longer than any other candidate, and this could well be a black mark. Rubbing his head ruefully, and aware of the astonished and exasperated stares of the other applicants, Ryusei suddenly wondered if the Proctor was deaf. Actually, that might be a good thing. But, what if the proctor actually hated that song, immensely. *Gulp*.

He nervously waited to see if the proctor would give him a pass, if only so he did not have to see such a horrible performance again.

"That was awful never do that again, ever," Jisou said seriously. "Alas, I cannot fail you for your singing voice. Take your headband and get out of here."

Perhaps Xyxer would kill this one? Man, that would go a long way to reduce the headache the proctor had just developed. Sadly, he still had a long day in front of him, shame. Maybe he could fail the next one? He could only hope at this point, knock on wood and all that jazz.

[Approved, cause Aki is slacking. I'll change your rank in a sec.]

"Battle not with Monsters lest ye Become a Monster and if you gaze into the abyss the abyss gazes also into you"